The Canadian Army officially formed in 1867, but have had Canadian soldiers battle during the American Revolutionary War and the War of Currently, the Canadian Army has a total of 50,600 soldiers. The Commander-in-Chief of the Canadian Armed Forces is Queen Elizabeth II (represented by the Governor General, David Johnston). The Commander of the Canadian Army is Lieutenant-General Marquis Hainse, CMM, MSC, CD. The Deputy Commander of the Canadian Army is Major-General J.C.G. Juneau, OMM, MSM, CD. The motto for this fine army is “Vigilamus pro Te” (We Stand on Guard for Thee). The mascot is known as ‘Juno the Bear.’ From before Confederation until the Second World War, the Canadian Army was known as the "Canadian Militia". The Canadian Armed Forces have completed 72 international missions since the year 1947.

The lowest ranks in the military is private/recruit. The abbreviation for private is ‘Pte’ in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth countries. However, it is ‘Pvt’ in the United States. The second rank is corporal. The abbreviation for corporal is ‘Cpl’. The rank corporal is rarely used in the United States Army due to the Table of Organization & Equipment. The third rank is master corporal. Master Corporal is senior to Corporal, but is junior to the rank, Sergeant. The abbreviation for this unique rank is ‘MCpl’. If you haven’t already guessed, sergeant is the fourth rank. There are many different classes of sergeants (higher the class, more responsibility). The abbreviation is ‘Sgt’. The next rank is warrant officer. Just like a sergeant, there are multiply classes. The abbreviation is nice and short, ‘WO’. The second to last rank is master warrant officer. Master warrant officer is a senior rank in the Canadian Forces. The abbreviation is ‘MWO’. The last and definitely not least, is chief warrant officer. Chief warrant officer is the most senior non-commissioned member rank is the Canadian Army. The abbreviation is ‘CWO’.

May 5 th, 2015, is the 70 th anniversary of the end of World War II (WWII). Veterans will march through local communities, attend the Dutch ceremonies, and tell their stories of the dreadful campaign. Sgt. Herb Pike of the 48 th Highlanders explains the horror of what he witnessed in the video below.

A video of WW2 veteran, Al Stapleton, and his experience in WWII.